Oh Mother, where art thou? II: A morning in Mainz

2:30

Yuk, that is way too early to get up.  But that's what I should have expected after so many plane naps and hotel naps....

6:00

I feel both bored & constipated.  Not a nice combination, but there is a single remedy for both conditions:  An early morning walk through the city, LOL.

It's a TELESCOPE ;-)

FANCY stairs

An anti-war memorial in the bombed out skeleton of a church

 The air in Mainz is not to my liking.  Under grey skies, the 15 degree air has not moved all night.  After walking for 10 minutes, I feel a cold sweat appear on my forehead.   Being this close to Frankfurt, the exhaust fume odour of the mourning air is not surprising.

Mainz Cathedral

I LOVE the crooked upper windows,LOL

Hello, Till Eulenspiegel !

How does one take a selfie with a huge Mickey Mouse statue?

;-)

Another shopping splurge at LIDL gets me more wine, buns, cheese, ham, AND shaving blades.  I'm sure Canadians are familiar with the outrageous prices charged by Gillette these days.  About CAD$ 5 for a single refill blade that will be dull after 3 shaves.   I've been using Asia-bought BIC blades for quite a while now but here is something NEW.     A European 2-blade shaver system.  1 handle and 20 replacement blades.  ALL for 3.99 Euros.   Oh Canada !

10:00

During the walk to the train station, I notice lots of African men in traditional dress.  Long purple caftans or vividly printed colourful pants look great on skinny tall dark-skinned people, a nice change from the boringly dressed pale original dwellers of these lands.

I'm sitting on the proper side of the train today for ogling the Rhomantic Rhine but the sky is grey with clouds drooping below the peaks of the high plain, so the view is not as exciting as it can be.

The train reaches MomTown station at 13:30 and I'm riding a rental e-bike by 13:45.  Fabulous system ;-)

I am SO GLAD to have saved this doodle in 2013 ;-)

Checking into my hotel is no problem, but after 2 minutes I realize that the hotel's WiFi is DOWN.  I inform the caretaker but it very much sounds as if they won't do ANYTHING about it until tomorrow the earliest ....                                               Time for internet withdrawal. 

I sleep from 15:00 to 19:00, LOL.

I had high hopes to finally binge on WiFi binge at the local Chinese restaurant while devouring a Hong Kong Duck.   After some initial highly disappointing WiFi sputters, the system kicks in and I'm surfing.  Grand Surprise: I didn't miss a thing, LOL.  

I surprise myself eating all of the duck in the dish.  I must have been starving for taste, LOL.

OK, last thing I'll do today:  a visit to  LIDL.   cherry yogurt, salty pretzels, a croissant, and a bottle of very drinkable French Sauvignon Blanc.  All for 3.92 Euros, LOL.  I LIKE these prices !  

21:00